Kingdom Of Heaven Essay

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The Kingdom of God has been one of the most misunderstood concepts of Jesus’ preaching. Several Christians incorrectly see the Kingdom as either “heaven” or a future monarchy that God will establish. How and why is something that is so crucial to Jesus’ message been misconstrued to the point where it is commonly and continuously preached wrong? When reading the Bible, the western church has failed to investigate the Jewish contextualization and have failed to realize the significance in Jesus’ Jewishness which is the main reason the kingdom of heaven is so constantly debated and misconstrued. The Kingdom of Heaven isn’t only something coming or something that was but something that is happening right at this very moment. For Children of God, …show more content…

First of all, the Kingdom of Heaven is not something familiar in the Hebrew Bible at all. Mainly because that phrase isn’t in any of the Hebrew Scriptures; it is only found in the New Testament and rabbinic literature. In fact, technically the rabbinic phrase “Heaven” does not refer to a place, like heaven as so many Christians believe, but stands as a substitute for the divine four letter name, YHWH, that many Jews could not bring themselves to say in fear of speaking His name in vain. According to Jesus, the Kingdom is not up in heaven or a time in which people must wait for or even a place to go and visit; it is happening and taking place here on earth right this very second. For Jesus, the Kingdom of Heaven is not in the near or even distant future, but something that has already begun. This is one reason why is it so vital to look at the Hebrew and Jewish context of that time since Jesus was, is, and always will be a Jew as well as a classic Jewish Rabbi. Many Christians view scripture from a Western mindset instead of an Eastern, Jewish context. By doing this, it dulls the true essence of what Jesus was really saying. In Luke …show more content…

Jesus makes it clear several times throughout scripture that in order to be a true follower of God there would have to be major sacrifice and submission. This was the first step in order to be His follower. Joseph Frankovic states that for the Kingdom of Heaven, “Admission required an irrational and unwavering commitment expressed through discipline, complete reliance on God’s provision, and acceptance of risk.” This explains why Jesus said several times to His disciples that they must leave EVERYTHING they have and follow Him. That task alone covers all three of the admission’s requirements. Understand that the Kingdom of Heaven was NOT something easily entered into. It means totally and completely surrendering everything and fully submitting all to God. The kingdom is Heaven is NOT something one can enter into through wealth, fame, success, or popularity by any means. In scripture, there are a few people who come to Jesus asking about eternal life and once they would hear what that would require of them, they turn and walk away, unable to commit and give everything away that the world told them was important. His disciples gave it all away: family, possessions, money. Every aspect of their materialistic life was gone. Following was not the same

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